The Rise of the Dark Lord: Years One and Two
by JessiRose96
Summary: Penelope Black starts her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and meets the mysterious Tom Riddle, whose odd mood swings, charming personality, and unmistakable power draw her towards him. I combined the first two years together.
1. Year One  Chapter 1

**AN: I combined Years One and Two into one story for this series because they are going to be a bit short and uneventful, with a few chapters in both Tom and Penny's point of views, maybe one or two in Henry's. Reviews would be very, very much appreciated! Enjoy.**

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><p>"Last call for the Hogwarts Express!" Penelope Black heard as she stumbled through the barrier at Platform 9 34. Flipping her dark hair out of her ice blue eyes, she looked around and saw everyone boarding the train. She turned to say goodbye to her family, but they were cooing over her brother, who was a third year. _Don't mind me_, she thought bitterly. _I'm just your youngest and only daughter. _Sighing, she climbed onto the train, just barely holding onto her owl's cage and her trunk. She yelled as she slipped on the second step and her things went everywhere.

"Oh my," a quiet voice said, and Penny raised her head to look at a boy about her age. He had messy black hair and dark eyes that looked down at her with interest. "Do you need help?" Penny nodded gratefully. The boy moved his gaze over to her trunk and jerked his head upwards, moving it into the cart by the stairs. Totally oblivious to Penny's gaping mouth, he held out his hand to help her up the rest of the steps.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly, smiling at him and holding out her hand. "I'm Penny. Penny Black." The boy managed a small, uneven smile. Penny couldn't help but notice that there was a certain element of surprise as he shook her hand.

"I'm Tom Riddle," he said slowly, as if he wasn't exactly sure whether he should tell her this or not. Penny sat down on one of the seats, looking around the empty carts. There was no one except for her and Tom in here. She could feel Tom staring at her and moved her eyes to face him again. This boy was odd, there was no doubt of that. But then again, she wasn't that normal either. At least, she wasn't in her family. She didn't hate Muggles, or Muggle-borns, and she wasn't a snob and she most definitely didn't want to be in Slytherin like her brother and her parents…and pretty much every single Black before her. So maybe she should make friends with this Tom. She smiled at him again, curious.

"How'd you move my trunk like that? You're only a first year too, right?" Tom shrugged.

"Yeah, but I've always been able to do that." He looked as though he shouldn't have told her this. Maybe he was afraid she would run away screaming. Penny was in awe.

"Without a wand?"

"Yes," Tom nodded, patting his hair to smooth it down. "I've been doing that ever since I can remember. Why? Is that wrong?" He looked worried. Penny shook her head quickly.

"No, it's extraordinary!" At this, Tom beamed at her. They spent the rest of the train ride with Penny asking questions about Tom, and Tom answering. She was so curious about him, mainly because she'd never met someone like him, someone so powerful at such a young age. An hour later, they were startled as a prefect came into their cart.

"You might want to hurry up and put on your robes, we're in sight of the castle," he said, then walked away down the hall. Tom and Penny looked at each other excitedly and quickly scooted near the window, both of them staring in awe at Hogwarts.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it Tom?" Penny sighed, lowering her chin on her hand. She'd been dreaming about this ever since her brother left for Hogwarts himself. Tom didn't answer right away, and Penny looked around to see him staring at the castle with a hunger in his eyes. "Tom?" The way he was looking at it worried her, and the flash of anger and frustration on his face as she interrupted his thoughts scared her as well. But his face smoothed out in less than a millisecond and he smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, it is. I think we're finally home, Penny." He said, and Penny knew that he meant it.


	2. Year One  Chapter 2

"Penelope Black!" Headmaster Dippet said, holding a scroll in his hands and looking around. Penny looked at Tom, who smiled at her encouragingly, and ran up, tripping over her own feet and crashing into him. There was an uproar of laughter from the entire Great Hall and Penny felt her face burn with embarrassment. _Nice job_, she thought, _Go ahead and let the school know that you're an incurable klutz. _Under Dippet's stern look, she sheepishly slid onto the stool, her feet touching the ground. It was now that she wished she weren't so tall. The hat slid onto her head, covering her eyes. There was a moment of complete silence, then-

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled, and it was taken off Penny's head immediately after. She looked over at Tom, who was just staring blankly at her, then over at the table where the Gryffindors were cheering and hollering. She slid off the stool and ran to the Gryffindor table, careful not to trip this time.

There was a brief moment of terror as she sat down. She'd broken the tradition. She was the first Gryffindor the Blacks had ever had. What would her mother say? Or her father? How would this affect her family's reputation? How would she be treated at home? Would they hate her? She glanced over at her brother, Marcus. He was looking straight at her with an enraged glare, as if it were somehow _her_ fault she was placed in Gryffindor. Penny swallowed and looked over at Tom, who wasn't looking at her, standing with the other first years and looking up at the boy who was now under the hat. Penny hadn't heard the name, too busy contemplating what was going to happen to her. The boy was sorted into Gryffindor and smiled at Penny as he sat down.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Henry. Henry Lupin." Penny smiled at Henry, examining him. He was shorter than she was, but then so were most people right now. He had golden blond hair and light blue eyes that lit up when he smiled, or maybe they just stayed like that. Penny wasn't sure. Nevertheless, she shook Henry's hand.

"I'm Penny," she said. Penny could feel eyes on her and she glanced around, catching Tom's glare before he quickly covered it up with a smile. Maybe she'd just imagined it, just like the glare in their cart earlier. She smiled back at him and crossed her fingers, as though hoping they would be in the same house. He winked at her and turned his attention back to the Sorting Hat, which had churned out a number of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins while Henry and Penny had been introducing themselves. Penny marveled at how fast it was able to sort children into their houses.

"Tom Riddle!" Dippet called, looking over the parchment at Tom, who strode quickly and quietly up to the stool and sat down. He sat straight up, as if waiting for a great honor. The Sorting Hat had barely touched his head before screaming "SLYTHERIN!" Tom smiled at Penny a bit sadly before going to sit at the Slytherin table, right next to Marcus. She sighed a bit unhappily, then reassured herself. _Just because we aren't in the same house doesn't mean we can't still be friends,_ she thought, and nodded resolutely.

The last person was called and the Great Feast given. As she ate, Penny talked avidly to Henry, who told her about himself. Apparently, he was a Muggle-born from London.

"I found out I was a wizard when the letter came. Dad was shocked," he laughed. "Nearly choked on his morning coffee, he did. Of course, I was surprised too but it did explain quite a lot. Like how I made a glass explode once when my brother stole a bite from my plate. Or when I turned his teddy bear into a bird and it scratched him." Henry chuckled and looked at Penny. "What about you? I mean, I know you're a pureblood and all, but don't you have to be 'identified' as one? With your family and all?" Penny nodded, sipping her pumpkin juice.

"They found out for sure that I was a wizard when I was three," she said, and giggled. "Marcus stole my toy broomstick and was flying around my playpen, making fun of me with it. I guess he wanted to make me cry, but I didn't cry. Instead the broomstick flew all the way up to the ceiling and Marcus smacked his head before it banged back on the floor. _He_ was the one who ended up crying and telling Mummy that I was a bad girl and that he was just trying to give me my broom back." Penny snorted. "And of course they believed him." She said the last sentence with a certain bitterness in her voice, hoping Henry didn't notice it. The prefect from the train stood up in front of the Gryffindor table, waving a hand and guiding the first years up to the Gryffindor common room.

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><p>Tom Riddle stared out the window of his new room, his arms wrapped around his knees. So far, his first day had gone well. He had been sorted into Slytherin, which as far as he could tell was the best house by far. He'd also met his first friend, Penny Black. <em>Friend.<em> He paused at that word, thinking back and trying to remember when he had ever had a friend. Everyone in the orphanage had been too scared of him to ever think of being his friend. _Well if they hadn't been teasing me, _he thought bitterly, _maybe that wouldn't have happened. _He remembered the first time he'd realized there was something different about him.

_Shelly Tate was teasing him. All the orphans were forced to go to church every Sunday, and as Tom sat in front of Shelly, she kept kicking the back of the seat. Thump. Thump. Thump. Tom had gritted his teeth and bared it for the rest of the service, and afterwards as they all walked back to the orphanage, she yelled at him._

_ "Hey, Riddle!" As he turned around she smirked cruelly, her wild red curls in a messy bun. Tom just stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Maybe she was apologizing. He immediately discredited that. Of course it wasn't an apology. What was she up to? _

_ "You aren't really an orphan _are_ you?" She smirked. "I heard Mrs. Cole talking about you! Your daddy's still alive isn't he? He just doesn't _want_ you does he?" Tom could feel the anger start building in his chest. He wanted to hurt Shelly. He wanted to hurt her, and he didn't know how to do that. He gritted his teeth and didn't say anything, just turning around and starting to walk again. Shelly followed, teasing him along the way, her friends giggling. "Poor Riddle, no one wants you! Poor, poor Riddle!"_

_ That was it. Tom whirled around and locked his dark eyes on Shelly, his face filled with rage. How dare she even begin to make fun of him? He'd rather be Tom Riddle than a stupid, nameless orphan! Shelly's eyes widened suddenly and she grasped her throat, gasping for air. Her friends screamed. Tom smiled with relish. He knew that somehow, some way, _he_ was the one choking Shelly, without even trying. And he liked that. He liked that power. Shelly's lips were turning blue now, her eyes beginning to cross. Mrs. Cole ran outside, hearing the little girls' screams, pushing Tom to the side and causing him to fall. _

_ As he picked himself up, he heard Mrs. Cole scolding Shelly for faking choking like that and for scaring everyone. She was sent to her bed with no dinner. As Shelly walked by Tom, he smirked at her triumphantly. Finally, he'd won. She glared at him with a "you'll pay for this" sort of look in her eye, but he knew she wouldn't dare mess with him again._

As the memory ended, Tom smiled to himself. Penny was like him. He could tell she had been teased when she was younger too. That she was scared of not being accepted, just like he had once been. He walked across the room to his bed, sliding under the covers. _Don't worry Penny,_ Tom thought, _we won't ever be picked on again._


	3. Year One Chapter 3

Tom glanced over at Penny, who was half asleep. They were sitting in Professor Binns's History of Magic Class, and he would be as bored as Penny if he didn't want to learn so much about wizarding history. He was taking notes at lightning speed, half listening as he filled his parchment. He heard Penny's giggle and looked up a bit, to see her looking over the shoulder of that Muggle-born boy, Henry. Tom despised him. He didn't deserve to be sitting next to her like that, both of them huddled over the parchment. Didn't Penny know that he was all wrong for her? She would be fouling her blood if she associated with him any longer. He glanced at the clock, then at Penny again. The class was almost over. Good. Then they could hang out as usual before dinner. Binns looked up as if he sensed that class was over, glancing at the clock. He looked at the class, who were either asleep or nearly there. All except for Tom, of course.

"Class dismissed. I want two rolls of parchment on the Rise and Fall of Gellert Grindelwald on my desk by next Friday," he said in his monotone voice. Slowly, the class began to file out. Tom lagged behind and so did Penny, with the unwanted Henry at her side. Tom crinkled his nose in disgust. He hated the Mudblood. That was a new word he had learned from some of his Slytherin friends. None of them were like Penny, though. They weren't kind _or_ gentle like she was. As Penny caught Tom's eye, she waved and hugged him. He took in the now familiar scent of soap and honey that came along with Penny and smiled faintly.

"Hey Pen," he said, using the nickname he'd given her in the first week of their school year. Now they were two months in and he was having the time of his life. "Hello…" His voice trailed off, pretending as though he forgot Henry's name. _If only I could,_ he thought bitterly. _Penny is supposed to be _my_ friend._ Henry cleared his throat.

"Henry. M' name's Henry, Tom." Henry said slowly, as if Tom was hard of hearing. This agitated Tom and he glanced at Penny, but she had gone to ask Professor Binns about the homework. That's why he liked her. She was unbelievably clever, but she didn't let it go to her head. And she knew that sometimes Binns felt as if he wasn't reaching his students. That's why she asked questions. Tom glanced at Henry.

"Don't talk to me, mudblood," he muttered and watched as Henry's face turned bright red with anger. Tom smirked. _Just what I need,_ he thought, _a bit of fun. _"What?" He asked snidely. "Did you not hear me, Henry?"

Henry nodded slowly, as if he didn't trust himself to speak. He was smart, Tom had to admit. He knew not to respond, because it would make it seem as though he was instigating a fight with Tom. Pity. He would've liked to see what Henry had up his sleeve for him. Penny was still talking to Professor Binns, though her voice was a bit strained now. Obviously she hadn't planned on speaking to him for the rest of the night. Henry cleared his throat and looked at Tom.

"So-"

"I thought I told you, you filthy mudblood. Don't talk to me." Tom whispered quietly, his dark eyes looking straight into Henry's blue ones mischievously. _Go on,_ Tom thought. _Attack me._ As if on perfect cue, Henry launched himself at Tom, sending both of them crashing into a row of desks. Tom felt his head bounce off the desk once and Henry's fist hit his eye before Henry flew backwards into the stone wall. The chandelier on the ceiling shook as Henry hit the wall, and Henry himself scrambled up and fumbled for his wand. Tom smirked, lifting his chin and thinking of Shelly Tate. Henry began choking, just like she had. _That's right,_ he thought maliciously. _Suffer. She's _my_ friend, not yours._

"TOM!" Penny's light green eyes were wide and staring at him in horror. "Tom stop it! Stop it right now!" She pleaded, looking at him with worry. Tom felt something down in the pit of his stomach stir. He was making her upset. He didn't like that, seeing her staring at him like this. Like he was some sort of monster harming a bunny rabbit. Tom looked away from Henry, letting him loose of the choking. He glanced at Professor Binns, but he was too busy with his head stuck in one of his books. Penny ran to pick Henry off of the floor and Tom could hear her scolding him for provoking Tom like that. Henry tried to explain, but it was no use. Penny didn't believe that Tom had used such an awful word. Tom smirked at Henry for a millisecond, then frowned as Penny walked over.

"Are you okay, Tom?" She asked, brushing dust off his robes and looking at him worriedly. "You're not hurt, are you?" Tom shook his head, loving the motherly way she flattened his hair and looked him up and down for bruises. He was a bit disappointed at how she had gone to Henry first, and not him. He reassured himself however. _She's mine,_ he thought as Penny took his arm and they walked to the Great Hall together. And he felt as if this was true.


	4. Year One Chapter 4

**AN: I combined both the beginning of Christmas Break, and Christmas Day in this chapter. The next chapter will be the last chapter having to deal with Year One, then we'll move onto Year Two. Review, please! And maybe tell some people who like HP fanfics about this? Thank you!**

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><p><span>The Beginning of Christmas Break<span>

"I'm telling you, Penny, there's something _wrong_ with that boy," Henry said, following behind Penny as she swiftly made her way towards the Great Hall, looking for Tom. She rolled her eyes at Henry, thankful he couldn't see. He'd been going on like this for a month, ever since he and Tom had gotten into a fight _right below a teacher's nose._ Penny could scarcely believe that Henry had tried to hit Tom, but what worried her more was the look of relish on Tom's face as he was choking Henry. He hadn't looked like himself just then. He'd looked like a monster, some sort of evil alter ego that wasn't her Tom at all.

All around her, Hogwarts was decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations. Golden ornaments and greenery laced the hallways, and huge red bows adorned every doorway. A couple of fourth years had hung mistletoe above the exit of the portrait hole, the girls having to scramble away in order to not be caught under the mistletoe. Even Penny herself looked festive, having stuck a sprig of holly into her brown curls. Tom had told her the green set off her eyes perfectly, and she had to agree with him. Green _was_ her most becoming color. Henry sighed, and it was only then that Penny had realized he was still talking to her.

"Were you even listening, Penny?" He said exasperatedly.

"No," Penny replied truthfully. She looked at Henry, then at his trunk, dismayed. "You're leaving for the holidays?" He nodded.

"Yeah. My family really wants me back." The words stung Penny, although she knew he didn't mean them to hurt her. She crossed her arms and looked away as she tried not to remember the Howler she had gotten from her step-mother and father when Marcus wrote home to tell them of her being Sorted into Gryffindor. She'd had to listen to her father's harsh voice yell at her to not bother coming home until the summer holidays, that she was no longer a true Black, that she was a disgrace, an abomination-

"A real git," Henry's voice reached her now and her head snapped back to him.

"What?" She said, hardly believing her ears. Surely he hadn't just called her a git. Henry sighed again.

"I _said _that Professor Slughorn acted like a real git yesterday. Penny, what is wrong with you? You're not listening to me at all. What's up?" He frowned at her worriedly, putting a hand on her arm. Penny wanted to tell him everything, with the way his blue eyes were looking at her with concern. But she couldn't. The only one she'd told about not going home was Tom, because he was the one that understood. He wasn't going back to his orphanage, so they would be the two of the ten or twelve people that were staying behind for Christmas. Penny heard McConagall call for everyone who was leaving and looked at Henry sadly.

"See you, Penny." He said, and hugged her before walking out with a glance behind him. Penny waved, glancing around to find Tom. Where _was _he?

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><p>Tom was watching from the shadows as Penny said goodbye to Henry. He still wasn't sure <em>why<em> she hung around that brainless Muggle-born, but as long as he didn't come near Tom, it wasn't really a problem. He stepped out from behind the statue and noticed Penny was standing with her arms crossed and her head low. She was crying. He immediately became enraged. Whatever was making her upset, he wanted it gone. He wanted to kill it so she wouldn't be sad anymore. However, he knew that was probably impossible to do. At least, without getting caught. At any rate, he could try and find out what it was that was upsetting her. He crept up on her and put a hand on her arm, looking at those big green eyes that happened to be squeezed shut.

"Pen?" Tom whispered, moving a lock of chocolate brown hair from her face. "What's wrong?" Penny merely shook her head and breathed in deeply, wiping her eyes.

"N-Nothing, Tom. It's just…" And then Tom remembered the Howler Penny had gotten, telling her not to come home. He remembered how angry he had been at Penny's parents for embarrassing her like that, and how he wanted to go find them and make them as hurt and embarrassed as Penny had been. Tom squeezed Penny's arm and smiled reassuringly at her.

"It'll be alright, Pen. You have me here." He smiled slightly. "I'll be your family for Christmas." Penny smiled at Tom, wiping the last of her tears from her face and hugging him tightly.

"Okay then. And I'll be yours." Tom smiled, glad that Penny couldn't see his face as she hugged him. He'd never been so happy in all his life.

Christmas Day

"Tom! Tom, wake up!" Penny shook Tom excitedly. "Come on, Tom!" He groaned, rolling over and putting a pillow on his head. Narrowing her eyes mischievously, she pulled out her wand and muttered something at Tom. He was flipped over a couple of times before she put her wand away. Tom was wide awake now, staring wide-eyed at Penny, probably wondering how he got the password for the Slytherin House.

"What?" He asked, trying to flatten his tousled hair. Penny giggled at how confused he looked and grabbed his hands, pulling him onto his feet and tossing his robe at him. She herself was still dressed in her nightgown, her long hair in a braid down her back. She grinned at Tom.

"Don't you know what day it is?" She asked, but he just shook his head and tried to flatten his hair again. Penny sighed. "It's _Christmas!_" She practically yelled, grabbing his wrist and dragging him over to his small stack of presents. "See?" She said, smiling at him. "They're for you." Penny watched as Tom stared at the presents in awe, blinking as though he'd never seen any presents before. He looked at Penny as if he didn't believe it.

"They're for me?" Tom said, looking back at the presents, and Penny nodded quickly, smiling. Tom smiled too, walking over to them with Penny and looking at all of them. "Wow…" he breathed, eyes widening. Penny pointed a rather small one that was exquisitely wrapped in silver and green paper.

"That one's mine," she smiled, and Tom dived for it first, ripping off the paper. Penny couldn't help but laugh. He looked so innocent as he was opening it, like a six year old who'd just received his first bike. Tom looked at the book that had been inside the wrapping and looked at the cover.

"The Tales of Beedle and the Bard," he read, looking over at Penny. "What are these?" Penny grinned back at him.

"They're wizard children's stories. I thought you'd like a copy, so you could learn more about the wizarding world." Tom positively beamed, and she knew she'd picked out the right thing as he hugged her tightly. Good. She'd been afraid Tom wouldn't like it at all.

"I have something for you too," he said, quickly running to his trunk and pulling out a card. Tom sheepishly handed it to her, flattening his hair again. "It's not much, but…I thought you'd like it." Penny looked at Tom curiously, then opened the card and grinned. A picture of her and Tom was inside, both of them waving at Penny. It had been taken just after their first day of school by a third year. The two of them were seated on the stairs that led to the owlery, laughing and talking when the third year had come up and snapped a picture. Penny had forgotten all about it, but now that she looked at the picture she smiled taking it out and reading the note Tom had written in the card.

_Dear Pen,_

_ You have been my best friend for the entirety of this school year, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate that. You're one of the kindest, sweetest people I know and I love you for that. The way you treat everyone with such maternal grace really makes me glad that you're _my_ friend. I know that no matter what, you'll never leave me. _

_ Your friend,_

_ Tom M. Riddle _

Penny looked up at Tom and smiled softly. "Oh… Tom, this is beautiful! Thank you!" She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. "This is the best Christmas present I've ever had."


	5. Year One Chapter 5

**AN: This is the last chapter of Year One! I'm personally surprised I even made it this far. This is the last update for about a week, I'm afraid. I'm going to my Dad's house and he has no internet there, and he doesn't have Word on his computer. But don't worry! I've been working on the first chapter of Year Two this morning and as soon as I get back, it'll be up! Thank you to all the readers, and again, reviews are appreciated!**

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><p>Tom was barely listening to Dippet as he made the end-of-the-year speech, glaring at Henry. That was it. He'd been around Penny for too long. He would have to come up with some way to get rid of him. Not just now of course, but sometime soon. Maybe next year. At the latest, he would be gone by third year. It wouldn't be as simple as Tom would've liked it; Henry would make sure of that. But he couldn't let Henry's filth enter Penny's head. Talk of telling Muggles about magic and actually offering to <em>teach<em> it to them. That was ridiculous. But that was what Henry was saying to Penny, just now. Tom had gotten very good at reading lips over the course of the year. Yaxley nudged him and he looked up.

"What?" He hissed, glaring at the boy. Didn't he know that he was trying to think? Then again, having the biggest, dumbest boy in school as one of your friends had its perks. Yaxley leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Why are you staring at that blood traitor and that Mudblood? Don't you know any better?" Tom was taken by surprise for a moment, the fact that Yaxley had actually managed to string more than two words together was astounding, but then his glare came back and Yaxley immediately regretted saying what he had. After glaring at Yaxley for a moment, he looked behind him at Marcus Black, Penny's annoying older brother. He too, had gravitated towards Tom, and Tom hated him for it. _Scum_, he thought. _I'll make him pay along with Yaxley. Pay for what?_ A voice inside Tom's head interrupted and he shook it away. _For existing._ He slowly moved his eyes over to Marcus's hand, which was holding a goblet of pumpkin juice. Perfect. Tom jerked his head up once, then quickly looked shocked as Marcus's hand flew up and smacked Yaxley square in the nose with the goblet. Yaxley gave a great yell and leaned back, grabbing Marcus by the robes and punching him in the stomach.

"_BOYS._" Professor Dumbledore was striding along their table, waving his wand and putting a full body bind on Yaxley. Tom watched, his heart pounding, as Dumbledore grabbed both Marcus and Yaxley with surprising strength and speed. Tom looked him straight in the eye as Dumbledore glanced at him. Dumbledore knew Tom had had something to do with this, but Tom was okay with that. How was anybody going to prove it? Tom looked away from Dumbledore and saw Penny looking questioningly at him. He shrugged indifferently and looked back at Dippet, who looked flustered at the interruption. The less she knew about what had just happened the better. The students were dismissed, and everyone cheered, except for Tom. He had to go back to the orphanage. And he knew Penny wasn't excited to face her parents, either.

Slowly, he got on his feet and pulled his trunk upright, dragging it along as he walked through the sea of students. He hadn't been invited anywhere for the summer holidays, not even by Penny. She had apologized profusely and said that she wasn't allowed to invite anyone over. He believed her. Penny would never lie to him, ever. She just wasn't a liar. Boarding the train with a somber expression, he got into a cart by himself. Yaxley, Marcus, Crabbe, and Goyle all passed by and waved at him and asked if they could sit in his cart. He shook his head quickly. He knew Penny wouldn't like them. They were too powerful for her. In fact, she called them bullies.

"Tom?" _Speak of the Devil_, he thought, and looked up at Penny with a smile. She was struggling with her owl's cage and her trunk. He stood up to help her, seeing the short, blond figure of Henry Lupin tagging along behind her. Tom's mood immediately plummeted. Why did _he_ have to be here? And why had she let him be here? Penny smiled gratefully as Tom hoisted her things up into the compartment above them and slammed the door shut. "Thanks, Tom." She hugged him and sat down, busying herself with making sure her owl safe. While she was occupied, Tom sent a glare at Henry, who returned it. They wouldn't be able to spend an hour and a half in the same cart. He would have to leave. Tom could tell that Henry knew this as he cleared his throat.

"Um, Penny? I promised one of my friends I'd sit with him on the train. You'll be alright by yourself?" Henry looked at her pleadingly, almost as if he wanted her to say no. Tom knew Penny would never say that. And she didn't. She merely looked up and smiled at Henry, nodding. Henry's shoulders slumped just barely and he walked out, the train moving and causing him to bump around a bit. Penny turned her attention to Tom as he walked out. Good. He wanted her all to himself. Her face was fearful, and he knew she was scared to death that her parents were going to be awful to her when she got home.

Penny stood up and went to sit next to Tom, hugging him tightly. He put an arm around her shoulder and couldn't help the feeling of rage that consumed him again. They were hurting her and he wanted them gone. He wanted them off of the face of the Earth. Tom squeezed Penny's arm and looked down at her. He wanted to tell her it would be alright and that nothing would happen to her, but he just couldn't promise that. So they sat in silence for the train ride, Penny falling asleep quite a few times, and Tom could see she hadn't slept at all that night.

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><p><em>Penny was three years old, hiding in an armoire to see who her father was talking too. A young girl who looked about eighteen was on her knees in front of Pollux Black, pleading with him in French to give her her daughter. Penny frowned. Daddy had another little girl? Pollux refused vehemently, his black eyes flashing. The woman's light green eyes turned upwards towards Pollux, standing up and clutching onto his shirt.<em>

"_S'il vous plaît__, monsieur__!__ Just let me see her! I just want to see her!" Penny peered closer at the girl, frowning. She looked so familiar, as though she was somewhere from a dream. A sudden booming voice interrupted her thoughts, sounding like her father._

"_I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WOMAN. NOW GO AWAY!" His voice yelled, but it didn't seem right. Somehow it didn't seem to fit what Penny was seeing. Before she could do anything about it, however, she felt the whole world shaking._

"Penny. Pen, wake up." Tom's voice drifted into Penny's ear as he shook her arm. "Come on, Pen, we've got to go." Penny sat up sleepily, blinking at Tom. _Go where? _She thought, confused. Then she glanced out the window. Oh. They were at the platform now, and she could see her parents, talking regally to the Malfoys. Her brother was striding across to them and they smiled down at him proudly. She wondered what type of look she would receive when she got off. Sighing, she took down her trunk and followed Tom off the train. A Muggle woman was standing there uncomfortably, waiting for him it seemed, because as soon as she saw him she started waving frantically. Penny turned to Tom.

"You'll write, won't you?" She asked, nervous that he wouldn't. Tom nodded quickly.

"And you will too, right?" Penny nodded as well, hating to leave Tom like this. She needed him, and he needed her. She threw her arms around him tightly, closing her eyes.

"I'll miss you, Tom."

"I'll miss you too, Pen." He said quietly, then detached himself from her, picking up his things and squaring his shoulders. "See you next year." Tom turned and marched bravely to the woman without another glance at Penny. Penny turned towards her parents, who seemed totally unaware of their only daughter as she walked slowly towards them.

"Mum?" She said quietly, looking up at them, pushing back the fear that started in her as they looked down at her with disdain. "Dad?" Pollux Black merely turned around and strode through the barrier with his wife and son, and Penny had no choice but to follow.


	6. Year Two Chapter 1

Penny Black stood on the platform and looked around desperately for Tom Riddle, her best friend. They had written back and forth to each other all summer, and finally she was going to get to see him after some of the longest months of her life. But she wouldn't think about the summer now. It had been terrible, just as she had expected, and if Tom asked about it, she would lie. She glanced down at the scar that decorated the top of her left hand, her wand hand. Penny hoped she wouldn't have to explain that to him.

"Penny!" A boy's voice cut through the crowd and Penny turned around. Henry Lupin was towing his trunk behind him as he hurried up the platform towards Penny excitedly. "Hey!" He grinned at her, panting. Penny was surprised to see he had actually grown a couple of inches, so he was just a bit taller than her. He was dressed in Muggle clothing, which made Penny feel a bit out of place, since she was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, her vivid red and gold displayed proudly on her chest.

"Hi, Henry!" She grinned at him, tucking a piece of brown hair behind her ear. Penny glanced around again. Where _was_ he? Henry looked at her excitedly, ruffling his blond hair.

"Did you hear, Penny? There's an opening on the Quidditch team this year." Penny's attention was immediately caught, and she looked straight at Henry. _Quidditch_. She loved Quidditch. It was her favorite thing to do, whenever she felt she needed to get out of the house. And since she'd been out of the house a lot this summer, she'd been able to get hours of practice all day. She _had_ to make the team.

"What position?" She said quickly. Penny knew she couldn't be a good Beater. She didn't have good enough aim, and saw herself smacking one of her team members in the head. She considered being the Keeper, but she knew where her real passion was. She wanted to be the Seeker so bad she could taste it.

"Um…" Henry thought for a second, and then looked back at Penny. "They need a Seeker." Penny couldn't believe it. What luck! She was so glad she could bring her broom this year, because she was going to need it. _I'm going to practice until my bones feel like they're made of jelly, _she promised herself. _I'm going to be the Seeker._ She was so excited she hugged Henry, momentarily forgetting where they were and being startled by the sound of the train whistle. Where was Tom? Penny frowned and looked around, then climbed on the train with Henry.

Tom could tell this year was already starting off bad. Penny hadn't waited for him at the platform. He'd seen her getting on the train with that Henry boy. Gritting his teeth, he fought to control himself. It wasn't Penny's fault she liked that mudblood, really. It was all Henry's fault. He was corrupting her and messing with her mind. Of course, Penny didn't know this. Tom had to find a way to let her know how bad it was to hang out with his kind. Henry wasn't worthy to learn at Hogwarts. As Yaxley and Crabbe came to greet him, Tom shook them off, telling them he'd see them at the feast and hopping on the train after Penny. She was seated in a compartment with Henry, talking animatedly about something as Tom walked in.

"And then he swept down, like this-" Penny made a swooping motion with her hand. "And caught the Snitch and it was amazing! The best Quidditch play I've ever seen!" Henry wasn't paying attention to her now, glancing up at Tom with dread. Good. Tom liked the way he looked at him, as if expecting danger. _That's right_, he thought with pride. _I'm dangerous._ Penny gave a little cry and leaped up to hug Tom. Tom kept his eyes on Henry as Penny hugged him tightly, narrowing them at the other boy. Henry lifted his chin and didn't move. Well, well. Wasn't he just cute, being all tough. As Penny pulled back, Tom grinned at her.

"Oh, Tom, I've missed you!" She exclaimed, pecking him on both cheeks and smiling. She took his hand and had him sit next to her. Tom's eyes strayed to a scar on Penny's hand and frowned. She seemed to notice and jerked it away before he could ask, covering it with the sleeve of her jacket. "How was your summer?" She asked, and Tom resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course it was a generic question, but she ought to know what it was like for him. He merely shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"We didn't do much." Tom said truthfully. He settled into the back of the seat. "I'm actually pretty tired." That was a lie. He just didn't feel like trying to word stuff around a Mudblood. His eyes slid closed and Penny patted his head, but didn't say anymore. He liked the way he did that, almost as if he was a little kid who needed tucking in. Tom didn't fall asleep, however. He kept himself away, listening to Penny and Henry's mindless chatter up until they reached the school, his home.


End file.
